Always a
summer highlight, the epic Sydney Festival is back with an even bigger bang
in 2014, presenting a plethora of new Australian works that will have both
Sydneysiders and visitors eager to get in on the action.

The festival
bonanza, held from 9 to 26 January, consists of 106 electrifying events held
across 33 indoor and outdoor venues. And with 375 dance, music, theatre and
opera shows – performed by an astounding 724 artists – there’s something for
everyone.

The world
premiere theatre performance of Black Diggers presents
the touching, never-before-told stories of 1,000 Indigenous soldiers who fought
in WWI, while The Shadow King is a
poignant and thought-provoking Indigenous re-working of King Lear, performed
through a mix of live rock music using both English and Kriol (an Indigenous Australian
dialect).

Other
noteworthy performances include the visually
astounding opera Dido & Aeneas, where
Berlin choreographer Sasha Waltz takes the audience into a phenomenal
underwater realm for a unforgettable portion of the performance. Above ground, the fabulously funky Q Brothers will
perform their hip hop-rap act Othello: The Remix.

Another interesting addition to
the festival is the usage of The Great Synagogue, a majestic space where the instrumental Apollo Ensemble will
perform Baroque chamber music that was originally composed for Jewish
liturgical services. The historic building, located on Sydney’s central Elizabeth
Street, has never before been used as a performance venue.

Even further
west, the suburb of Mount Druitt will turn into a thriving family entertainment
precinct with the implementation of FUNPARK. Developed together
with the local community, the impressive theatre-installation project will have
everything from interactive arcade cinemas to hula-hooping marathons and rock
opera performances.

The Sydney
Festival 2014 is made up of both ticketed and free events. A complete event guide and tickets
are available online.